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I'll critique these with you, Raincloud Dustbin. Keep in mind, I have purchased all the super heros sets, some even twice. I am a minifig custom guy, so I'll add some notes there too. Here we go: 1. Captain America's cycle set--only bought it for CA (I would rather have a comic version, but this one is cool, too)...the rest is 'meh'. I know they had to give us a couple aliens, so no complaint...I just don't like them. The cycle is forgettable, but not bad. For customizing, this set doesn't really have much more than two sets of purple hands (hard to come by) and the CA for making a Bucky Barnes version of CA. 7/10 2. Wolverine Chopper showdown--this is fairly typical of the Marvel line: Top-notch minifigs, 'meh' build. The chopper is alright, no real complaints...just nothing inherently 'Marvel' about it. Customizers get an old man face, wolverines face (more versatile than one would think) and not a whole lot more, although Deadpool's body could be used for some things. 8/10 3. SHIELD truck--truck is ok...IM is awesome, but Loki and "Hawkeye" aren't. I hate what they did to Hawkeye's look in the film, and we got him in two sets!! Woot. Loki is ok, but as Raincloud mentioned, his head piece is...large. Still, this set is just another minifig pack with a vehicle thrown in. Customizing opportunities are significant here, though. All three heads/faces are very versatile. Hawkeye's red goggles can be used to make a slew of characters. Funny enough, this is a set I have two of, for the customs (I might turn that car blue one day too). 7.5/10 4. Quinjet--Raincloud mention my only criticism: Only one exclusive minifig in such a big set is a dissapoinment. The build, however, is the best of all the Marvel stuff, imo. It is sturdy, large and has a lot of spaces to mess around with. It also looks supremely cool. 9.5/10 5. SHIELD base-thingy--Yeah, this build is sort of cool, but I wish it did not come with a jet. The pieces would've been better used if they made the base bigger. The big Hulk is sweet and is pretty much the biggest reason to buy this set. The other minifigs give some custom options, but nothing that hasn't already been noted. 7/10 6. Doc Ock's lab: This is pretty much in the same boat as the Helicarrier set--nice little base, nothing too special. The vehicle, however, is awful. It serves zero purpose and reminds me of a Yugo. I really love the Iron Fist mini, as I am a big fan of obscure characters. The Doc Ock makes me wish I had the old one, and I will eventually customize a new one for myself. It isn't a bad fig and represents the show well enough, but he is ugly, imo...and not in a good way. Spiderman is...Spiderman; who doesn't love him? Sure the older SM seems more liked, but I was never a fan of the metallics. Not a huge amount of custom options here, except maybe Doc's head. 7/10 7. Spidey Cycle: Great set, imo--even though it doesn't come with any scenery, which has been my biggest complaint with the whole super hero line. The car is great fun, in a little package (just like my wife, lol!!). I do also widh it had been made in blue. The cycle is cool and fits the car well in theme. The minfigs are so good, though. Even though I will always rail against Fury being ethnic (imagine if they had made the Black Panther white--people would rage. I see no difference), but it is still a cool minifig, especially if you make hime talk in a Sammy Jackson voice. Venom is in my top-five from the entire super hero line. Nuff said. Very little customizing options here. 9/10 8. Daily Bugle: Great figs--JJ, Beetle, Nova and Doc Doom are all well done, imo (again, I love obscure characters, so Nova is a great addition for me). There are so many exclusive figs (at this point) in this set that they made it a 'must buy', for me. The Doom vehicle is another waste of time on this front, and the piece count would've been better served to amp the Bugle. The Bugle is cool, if not a little plain. It has some cool rooms and I like the fire escape. Still, I would've liked another floor or the option to close it for a more modular feel, which could've been done if they left out the vehicle. Since both Doom and Beetle can fly, I don't get the point of it, at all. There are actually a lot of nice items in this set for customizing: green cape and hood, two sets of Beetle wings, Nova's head, JJ's hair and face--some good stuff, if not expensive if buying just for those things. 8.5/10 9. IM3 sets--the only build that interests me is the mansion wall(s). It could've been a lot cooler, though (again, lose the cheesy vehicle and add to the scenery!!) The copter, boat and fire trike range from uninspired to "YUCK!!", imo. The minfigs are ok. IM and Warmachine are top-notch (I'd welcome an IM with no opening mask, however, in favor of a trimmed down size to it), the others are just a bunch of humans, basically. They are alright, but nothing special. Mandarin gets his own special place, however. I don't like his minifig--at all. Not the face, not the costume and def not the beard!! I don't care if this is how the movie will present him. That only means it is a failure on a couple levels. Despite this opinion, I'll be buying them all--completionist, customizer and supporter of all thing LEGO+super hero. I'll wait to give these a 'rating' until I get them in hand. Ok, despite my critique, I love that LEGO has the Marvel license and look forward to many more sets from the line.

I used to live down the street from this location. The pic is pretty darn accurate, in so many ways. I love the lighting on the violin case; shows the different texture well. Thanks for sharing.

It's nice to see a good line of minis continuing. I'd buy these in a store, no doubt.

Great minds, thinking alike! For real, when one contemplates using more scenery as a build's basis, so many cool set ideas come to mind.

I thought it was a typo, the first time I saw the price. The Shredder-cycle thing is also pretty expensive.

Perhaps, but I think the super hero lines are a special case. The sets seem to be add-ons to packs of minifigs. That said, I generally like the sets, but the really isn't a super hero set yet, imo that has hit it out of the park (aside from having great minifigs), aside from the Quinjet, which I feel is nearly flawless. I love the Joker Funhouse, especially all the play features, but it really isn't a solid or significant build. Arkham Asylum was a blast to build, with some very detailed elements, but could've used at least a little more depth (at least another wall, to give it some substance when looking at it from any angle, aside from straight-on). The IM3 sets, imo, have really taken the above sentiment to a new level. I find this unfortunate. What, from those sets (again, aside from the minifigs), give any indication you are playing/building something from Marvel? Then, check out the Lone Ranger sets, the LotR/Hobbit sets, even many of the SW sets. They are gorgeous, have dynamic builds, give a feeling of depth and variety, etc. There are also more expensive and expansive sets in the other lines. They also include pretty great minifigs. The result is that when setting the builds up, one will feel immersed in that particular license. I just don't see that happening with IM3 stuff (a boat, a rehashed, downgraded helicopter, a strange fire-trike and a couple walls--oh boy). The current Batman wave(s) do a better job, but not by huge margin, imo. To reiterate, I feel the best improvements that could be made for Batman and all the super hero lines, would be to concentrate on the scenery of what makes that particular universe feel unique. Sure, the vehicles could have greater scale, but that doesn't really bother me as much as it seems to get others. For instance, I love the new Batman vehicles. Their compact nature is fine, both for storage and dusplay. They are also very stable builds, allowing for a lot of handling/playing...which is fun.

Yes, this is the point I was trying to make. I am very much into custom work, mostly purist. I know LEGO will never get to a lot of the super hero characters I love. Some new, versatile, body parts would be very welcome, imo, as new pieces.

@Sandy: Of course, I know of both these alternate legs. Woody's legs are too big for normal minifig legs, imo. The short legs were a welcome addition, but I was referring to different torsos and tall legs that weren't so...obvious. Still, it's nice that LEGO will break their mold...sometimes. ;)

Lol, that figure needs more...girth. Actually, I really do wish LEGO would release some new minifig styles--chubby/big, very tall, etc. I keep going back to the Lone Ranger set pics and I still cannot fathom how they got such cool, environmental builds and super heros gets a couple rehashed vehicles. I am buying for the minifigs. Aside from Warmachine, there isn't much to look forward there either, imo--we have IMs already, I made an easy, purist Mandarin that is worlds better than the official and the rest of the minifigs are either civilians or baddies in civvie clothes. There just isn't much I look forward to, build-wise, in the super hero line. It really does bug me to no end though--super heros have a proven fanbase, but instead of going the extra mile and giving us creative builds, it seems TLG knew we would buy these sets no matter how badly they designed them...so that is what they did. A boat does not, a seaport make. A wall is not a mansion and I'm not even getting into the fire-trike thingy. Meh, all around.

I wrestle with this. As a former tabletop gamer, I am completely able to think of...and execute fairly good custom work, over a number of mediums. I have built terrain, cut, pinned, puttied and painted tiny metal and plastic soldiers, etc. For some reason, however, I strive to stay purist, even at the expense of an exact look. That said, I have ordered from Brickwarriors and love the items. I have plans to explore more of the alternate options out there. No offense to LEGO, I just want some of those cool toys!

Oh man, I'd love a Stan Lee minifig...he does appear in every Marvel movie. Daniel, as we are both fans of IM and Lone Ranger, which franchise, in your opinion, made out better?

I did a Ghost, a few pages back, but ended up going pretty far off track, using a helmet and a visor. I'd love a white hood, as a couple of characters could use it. It would complete my Ghost and Taskmaster, off the top of my head. Also, watch out soon, folks. I just made 8 orders on Bricklink, totalling more than $100, of just minifig parts. Oh man, I am psyched to make up some sweet customs! Still, I am soooo not letting the lady know how much is coming out of my Paypal account. An AFOL has gotta do what he has gotta do. ;)

These sets look so good. I wasn't going to buy them, but there is no doubt I will, now. I wish the Marvel super hero stuff, aside from the minifigs, looked even half as nice. Great pricing on these too, imo.

They could've tossed us some Mary Jane...would've made alot of sense, in context to the show.

Ok, sorry to beat a dead horse. I've made clear how much I dislike these sets. I know, however, that is totally a matter of opinion. What isn't a matter of opinion, is how varied and even BIG some of the Lone Ranger sets are. Why would they give that movie so much cool stuff and give IM/Marvel fans the stuff we've seen? There is absolutely no comparison. I am a big Marvel/super hero fan. I am a big LEGO fan. I'll probably buy anything they put on the shelves. Marvel movies have huge audiences. What do you guys think was behind the decision to make the IM3 line so chintzy? If the term 'chintzy' is too strong for you, replace it with 'small'.

Think we could get a Kimbo Slice minifig in there?

Lol, I'm new here, so I don't even know what '<insert that tiresome argument>' means. Sooo, may I use the arguement...just once, at least? Further, sorry to disagree, but I really don't want three helicopters. These are super hero sets. I've been a fan of all things super hero since the mid-70s. Y'know what makes them cool, aside from their powers and costumes? Their bases/lairs, vehicles and gadgets. I wish TLG had decided to use the marvel source material, instead of these cheesy, rehashed vehicles we have all seen. A lot. A bigger mansion. Perhaps a little scenery from the movie? Anything new. Anything. We got old news. Minifigs are pretty awesome though, despite the hair/beard for Mandarin, which is easily replaceable. In the end, I'll buy them, if for no other reason than to keep current with my collection and get the minis. I also want LEGO to make money on this endeavor, so they will make more. Hopefully, that 'more' will include some cool things to build, other than a wall of Tony's mansion.

I think when one puts these sets up against other licensed products from LEGO, it is pretty obvious they have put very little effort into the builds. The fire-trike is something I might've built when I was 12yo, with 45 minutes to spare and some extra bricks. The boat is ok...but it's just a boat. The helicopter is dumbed down version of a helicopter we already have. The mansion is a nice build and I'd have no problem with it, if it were 30% of the total build. Mandarin just looks...bad. I don't understand any defense of the figure, but I'd listen, if you or anyone had a reason why he isn't garbage. Why do you think they look amazing?

That's a really good idea, Professor Flitwick (lol, sweet handle)...I bet a few of us who have been posting to this thread will have a set of these within a few weeks or months. Thanks for the great idea, especially since I bought some Chima stuff, specifically for customizing, but haven't really found a use for it yet.

Dang it, I hate to admit this, because I am sort of new to the AFOL scene and mostly everything I've ever bought from LEGO has been top-notch, but it's been bothering me all evening since I saw these pics: These sets are not good. At all. The minfigs are good, but nothing ground breaking. Why does every IM suit have to open its face mask? Give me a slimmed down head that doesn't open. Something new...anything new!! And don't even get me started on that Mandarin! I understand the character is drawn from the movies, which is controlled by a whole other creative team, but that beard looks like a Rastafarian had a very successful journey, mon. Someone was smoking something when they came up with something that bulky and ugly and it got approved. Ok, TLDR rant almost over. I just think all these set sort of fail to deliver, except some elements of the "mansion" (my two bedroom apartment dwarfs that thing). I don't like any of the vehicles. At all. The fire-buggy rivals Doc Ock's useless trike for lameness. I am a huge fan of the work TLG has done with their licenses. I'm even finishing up the PotC stuff, just because the sets are so cool. I didn't even like the movies! Why has TLG put out such 'meh' sets for the Marvel line, sans a few things (the Quinjet is superfantastic)? Great minifigs, half-a$$ed sets. As Stan would say, "Nuff said." Ok, glad I got that out, my wife just looked at me, blankly, when I tried venting to her. I figured some of you folks would maybe understand. Carry on.

Wow, so glad I made my own Mandarin...cuz I no likey the official one! And I guess all the folks who were dying for an Iron Patriot are...SOL.

You and I couldn't wait, so we made our own! My X-squad is now 13 deep!! I don't have a Blackbird, though...goes to look through his black bricks. Also, I forgot Galactus could change size. Was this always the case? I've always thought the whole concept of Galactus was cool, but his scale always gave artists problems. Hence, we never have had a definitive size for him. I wonder if they added 'adjustable size' later, as an easy fix?

For Galactus to be to scale, he wouldn't even fit into a LEGO store. Screw scale...just make him pretty big and very cool, like in the comics.

Ok, then how about what ever company made that clock, makes one of Galactus? I'll figure out something for covering up the actual clock. I wants it!!!

Why is too bad if they are comic-based? It's preferable, imo. I think the Sentinels would be cooler in the Hero Factory style, but I'd love a Galactus with that clock mould.